Cuban Gets Hee-Haw'd!

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Cubanrubel_2Mark Cuban, savior of Dallas basketball (seriously, I remember going to Mavs games back in the early 90’s…it sucked) and all-around techie guru, has turned to the masses to find a solution to his movie marketing problem.  His issues are two-fold, spending too much to build an audience, and requiring them to pay too much when they get there. 

It's a bit of a tough assignment because I don't think the problem can be fixed by introducing a new tactic or two.  It's all about considering the consumer a partner in the experience, not just a benefactor of an experience created for them.  With that said, here are a few tactics. :)

(1) Get the movie to the places people want to watch.
Local coffee shops, bars, clubs, whatever, are always looking for ways of drawing in the public, and the public is tired of theaters gouging them at the concession stand, just because they think they can.  Allow these businesses who have the space, to also roll the feature.  Rent a projector, a screen, and the movie for a fee that makes sense to that location.

  • The establishment wins because they draw people in.
  • The people win because they can go to a place where they feel more comfortable, might be able to smoke, drink, eat a reasonably priced meal, etc.

(2) Do whatever it takes to make the audience comfortable the movie won't be shit.
Although a trailer has its place, it's time to move to the taster.  Allow consumers to view 30 or 45 minutes of the movie for free.  Give them time to get to know the characters, to get engaged with the story, and then charge to see the second half.  If you present a crap movie, of course, you'll get a crap response, but make something worth watching, and you're much more likely to have a customer happy to pay your price.  Show these tasters anywhere you can, streams on the internet, late-night television (cheap for you and DVR friendly), before baseball games, whatever.  Give people a chance to become involved with the story.

(3) Monetize in other places.
Product placement can be a valuable resource, but doesn't necessarily offer any immediate payoff.  Create a virtual store of ALL the items in the movie.  Clothes, furniture, kitchenware, cars, whatever, and build affiliate programs to get a cut of the return.  They buy through you, and everyone wins.

(4) Allow your biggest fans to become engorged in the movie.
Start blogging from the beginning.  Show early cuts of scenes and interview your actors from day one.  Make them accessible throughout the shoot, not just on press day.  Release scenes for download so fans can create their own mash-ups, and become a part of the movie.  Give movie communities as much access as you possibly can.  (Mack knows a thing or two about this). Open a continuing dialogue.

Those are just a few of the literally thousands of things Mark could be doing to change the industry. Screening parties, pricing-to-the-occasion, flop passes, loyalty programs, selling the extras immediately after the feature, and on and on and on….

Eric Frenchman also has a few ideas.